Helpful Resources

Founded in 1898, the American Optometric Association is a federation of state, student and armed forces optometric associations such as the North Carolina Optometric Society. The AOA represents approximately 39,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and paraoptometric assistants and technicians.

Through offices in St. Louis, Missouri, and metropolitan Washington, D.C., the AOA sets professional standards, helping its members conduct patient care efficiently and effectively; lobbies government and other organizations on behalf of the optometric profession; and provides research and education leadership.

More than 46 million low-income individuals in the United States cannot afford the cost of routine eye care or do not have the health insurance that covers such exams.

VISION USA was established in 1991 to provide basic eye examinations to Americans in need, and is currently available in 39 states and the District of Columbia. American Optometric Association member optometrists donate their services at no cost.

If you need an eye exam and do not have insurance and cannot afford one, work with your social worker, case worker, charitable organization or agency to submit an application on your behalf for VISION USA services.

InfantSEE, a public health program, managed by Optometry Cares – The AOA Foundation, is designed to ensure that eye and vision care becomes an integral part of infant wellness care to improve a child’s quality of life.

Under this program, American Optometric Association member optometrists provide a no-cost comprehensive eye and vision assessment for infants within the first year of life regardless of a family’s income or access to insurance coverage.